Natsu
by skrom
Summary: From Maple and Cherry Blossom. Maple trees (Kaede) are very popular during the fall because of their beautiful red and orange colors. Cherry blossom trees (Sakura) are very popular during the spring, when the flowers are in bloom. Natsu (meaning Summer) features the in betweens of how fate brought two opposites together.
1. First Day

_**Kaede**_

On the first day of school, freshman year, was when I first took notice of her. Drowsily, I walked in the school lobby to change into my rubber-soled shoes and there she was, a few lockers away from mine. She was putting on her shoes and storing her leather shoes away. Then she sprayed her hands with some sort of sanitizer.

"SAKURA!" We hear a loud yell, and she looks up. Our eyes meet for a second. Brief, but it was enough for me to take her in. Milky white skin, dark jet black hair, and big, big gray eyes. She blinked at me and I turn to my locker and changed my shoes, pretending to not have been enamored by how attractive she was.

Her friend comes running up behind me and they talk. Her voice was smooth like honey and her laughter, like the chiming of bells. I felt a warmth spread through my cheeks and I grew afraid for a moment. When I looked back at her, she had already walked away with her friend.

I paused to breathe. I only came to this school for basketball. It was the closest one to my house and the coach was legendary. But here, I realized, it offered more gifts than I expected.


	2. Thug

_**Sakura**_

I noticed him on the first day of school. His fame did not take long to spread, as with most athletes in high schools. But it was not in that manner that I first knew of him. No.

I had gone down to the infirmary with one of my classmates. She was a nervous wreck on the first day of school and had come down with a fever from all her anxiety.

As we were going in, someone was stepping out. We almost ran into each other, but his reflexes were quick. He was a tall guy, and his form blocked the doorway. There were bandages around his head and a scowl was seemingly permanent on this face.

"Oh, excuse us." I said and he stared down at me for a moment, his blue eyes glinting. I saw his strong jaw tighten and noticed his scowl ease. Finally, and without a word, he grunted and walked the other way.

The nurse in the clinic attended to my classmate while rambling on about the crazy things freshmen do on the first day of high school, "Like that guy who just stepped out-did you see him? Seriously, getting in fights on your first day-I mean, how does that even happen? You just got here, for crying out loud, and you're already in a fight with someone? Geez."

The image that ingrained in my head at that was that this guy was a punk. One of those gangster types whose hobby is to mess with people. Later that week, news spread about Rukawa Kaede and his fight with the red-headed Sakuragi Hanamichi. I knew it was him then. And all those words just became associated with each other: Rukawa Kaede equals athlete equals fights equals punk.

I heard of more fights involving him in the next months and that did nothing to change my impression of him. I instead strove to avoid the rascal.


	3. Impressions

_**Sakura**_

All I knew of him before we became friends was that he was the ace of the basketball team-that there were these girls who were gaga for him. But he was not really very flamboyant in school. Ultimately, he was just this very quiet guy. I'd see him in the halls sometimes, looking like he's struggling to stay awake. Some girls would try and talk to him, but he never entertained them. He pretty much just minded his own business and did whatever he wanted from what I saw...I knew that in the back of my mind but I refused to believe it for the longest time.

No one ever saw him in school fairs or what not. And whenever he was spotted, he was never really feeling the festivity...Although, I think I remember him stopping by our class's booth once (it was a cafe). I remember because to many it was a big deal. But he really just sat down, had a drink and two slices of cake, and left.

During student council campaigns, where I had to stop by all the first year sections, I'd go to his classroom and find him asleep. His classmates would say that he is hardly awake in class. They would ask if they wanted me to wake him and I'd refuse it. He need not listen to my ramblings if he hardly cared about his own classes in the first place, right? But he would always wake up and sit up anyway towards the middle of my talk, and he would listen the entire time. I always appreciated that.

Like...he was very gentle when not aroused to anger, I guess. Once I saw him in the school quadrangle just standing there and basking in the breeze that came from the ocean.

...There was also this one time he and I kind of bumped into each other at the grocery store-we lived close to each other so that was no surprise-I've seen him do his groceries there maybe once or twice. But I was trying to reach some sort of sauce on the top shelf and was having quite a hard time, and then he just whizzed by, grabbed the sauce, dumped it in my basket, and moved on without saying a word. I thanked him but he didn't hear me because he had his headphones on.

Somehow, because of that, and though I was afraid of him, I knew there was a softness about him. And that stirred in a sort of curiosity that made me agree to Miyagi-senpai's request, come our second year. I had this very idealistic vision that I was going to change him. Direct him to the right path, away from his delinquent life. So I took the job. What happened next was completely unexpected.


	4. Crush

_**Kaede**_

Was it a crush? I guess you can say that. She was very...nice to look at and listen to for me at that point. I was much too focused on basketball to even give it some thought. But I definitely took notice of her. She interested me. That's one way to put it. She always caught my attention, as if everything else was a blur and she was the only one that was crystal clear. Her voice and her presence would catch me off guard...

I always thought it was just because she was the Student Council President...that she simply commanded attention wherever she went...so a relationship wasn't really anything I considered until much, much later when I realized that I probably was the only one who felt this way.


	5. Conflict and Curiosity

**_Sakura_**

No, I did not like him. I did not really think about him that much before we became friends. We were in different worlds.

While I did have my opinions of him, and they were conflicting. Dangerous versus gentle.

As the year passed though, and I saw more of his indifference to any frivolities-even as he continued to be oblivious to his fans' club's cries-I realized he wasn't as terrifying as I thought...which again, gave me the guts to agree to become his Math tutor.


	6. Nerd

_**Kaede**_

Honestly, she wasn't a very good Math teacher. I know that now. She didn't know how to explain things very well. We were discussing algebraic expressions and equations one time and she told me to expand an equation. I did it wrong, a few negative signs were not supposed to be there. She grew furious, "Why would you do it that way?! That is so wrong!" And she went on to show me how it was wrong by writing down the correct equation. I could see the frustration on her face. I asked her to explain further and she would not be able to, she struggled for the right words.

I think she just has a talent for Math. It just makes sense to her, she gets it. She enjoys the numbers, the formulas, the equations, the problem solving. There need not be a logical explanation for each variable, it just makes sense without further explanation.

I was very averse to the idea that Ryota came up with. Completely. Though at the same time, it was nice to get the chance to somehow spend time with this girl I've always been intrigued by.

I fell asleep a lot and did want to get to practice sooner...when she slapped me that one time, that shocked me terribly. I hated studying, but I also didn't want her to hate me.


	7. Meet you halfway

_**Sakura**_

I realized that he only cared about basketball, so I thought I ought to make it interesting for him. I would use basketball as an illustration in our studies because that's what he knew. I gotta meet him halfway after all.

I can never erase from my mind the shocked look on his face whenever he hears or sees me recognize some basketball terms. Granted, you know, I was not an expert. I learned a lot about basketball from Haruko-chan later on. But well, my dad was a basketball coach. I did force myself to learn basketball in the hopes of winning back my own father's affections for his family….

Anyway, after a few weeks, I learned to accept that he wasn't a mathematician. He was very good at the other subjects though. So I thought, well, so long as he passes Math, Miyagi-sempai says that's good enough!


	8. Manipulative Senpais

**Sakura**

He asked me on the first day of school, right after the opening ceremony of my second year.

I stepped down the stage after giving my class president speech and when I passed the seniors' file, Ayako-senpai whispered, "I need to talk to you after the ceremony." It startled me, but I assumed it was going to be about club funding, for it was what we usually talked about.

After the ceremony, I found her with her boyfriend, Miyagi-senpai, under a maple tree outside the gym. I was bracing myself for what _I_ had to say, that, no, I was not going to increase the basketball club's funding again, else the Judo club would throw a fit!

"Hey!" They both greeted me cheerfully. "Great speech, great speech." Riyota said, nodding his head. "What really touched me was you said, 'we need to help each other succeed because that is what leadership is. Don't leave a classmate behind.' It's a very thoughtful saying." Riyota smiled and I felt rather flattered and encouraged that my words moved someone.

"What about if a student is way behind and not motivated to study?" Ayako asked.  
"I'm sure there are ways to motivate that person." I said.

"Do you think so? Do you think there is a chance that this person can succeed in school as well?" Riyota wrinkled his brows, feigning worry, but he was unable to hide his amusement that he kept smiling while pretending to be concerned.

"Y-yes. Of course?" I say hesitantly, _who is he talking about?_ I glanced at Ayako, _his girlfriend?_ "I think if someone puts their mind on to studying, they can accomplish anything. It takes discipline and determination though." I said.

"How do you suggest discipline be enforced?" Riyota asked again, and I glance at Ayako again, wondering if he means her when she has good grades.  
"Well...I think…" I chose my words carefully in case he did mean her, "if this person does not have inner motivation, that some external body will need to force them to study. You can positively reinforce it, with a reward in the end, or negatively reinforce it by punishing when they fail."

"I agree with that," Riyota rubbed his chin.  
"But this person does not know how to study at all…" Ayako butt in, and it dawned on me that it wasn't her. "This person has not picked up a book in years."

I thought of my brother who only ever played video games after dad left. My mom and I had to commit to tutoring him everyday. "Then maybe this person should get a tutor."

Riyota smirked, and Ayako's eyes sparkled, "Would you be this person's tutor?" They chorused.

"Huh? Wait. Who is this?"  
"Rukawa Kaede."

A chill ran down my spine. I wanted to say, " _Are you insane?! No way will I tutor that delinquent guy!"_ But I really couldn't, after they cornered me with all the encouraging words that _I_ said.  
"W-wait. Are you sure you want me to tutor him? D-do you think he'd even listen?"  
"He's not as intimidating as most people think! He can listen and submit, and he is capable of being nice."

"Really?" I said skeptically, but my mind had already wandered to that time at the convenience store.

"A sick kouhai of his from his junior high came to play once. It was going to be his last basketball game, and he wished to play with his senpai, Rukawa. Rukawa made it one hell of a game for him. In the end, Rukawa gifted him with his basketball jersey."  
That story tugged at my heartstrings.

"So you know, he is capable of being nice. He can be broken. And we think that you'd be the best person for the job."  
 _Oh shoot._ Riyota really knew how to flatter people and get them to bend to his will. I must wonder if he did the same to Aya-senpai.

"Okay. I will."


	9. Casual

_**Sakura**_

I watched him from the corner of my eye as we walked to the train station. He had a small satisfied smile on his face, which really lightened the heaviness in my chest. He walked so coolly, even when he carried my fuzzy duffel bag.

"So I take it the game with Azabu went well?" I ask, for the sake of breaking the ice. This guy wasn't one to strike conversation and small talk.

"Ha-h?" He looked at me from the corner of his eye, and rubbed his head. "I can't believe how little faith you have in me."

I almost choked, "I-I was asking more on how badly you crushed the other team."  
"Well, they were very slow…" He began, "They only had one tall player, and only one who can make decent shots, and he was fat and slow."

We turned the corner and crossed the street to the station. "I don't understand. How can I team like Azabu even want to play a game with Shohoku then? I mean, I would think it's plainly obvious that their team wouldn't even match ours."

Kaede shrugged, "Who knows? Azabu's just a bunch of rich kids. And those rich kids are not really into strenuous sports-I'm going to get a drink."

I stopped on my tracks and caught up with Kaede, who was grabbing his drink from a vending machine. I realized the just how thirsty I was. So I pulled out my coin purse.

Kaede took a swig of his soda, "They ran out of water."  
I smiled and shook my purse, "That's okay, I'll just get soda too then." The coins jingled inside.

Kaede frowned at me, "Soda is not good after running."

I looked at him in surprise, "Huh?"

"You were running. You need water, not soda."  
"Oh, okay. But they don't have water, so I'll just get soda." I argued and fumbled for some coins.  
"I have water."

Before I knew it he had already taken out his water bottle from his bag and handed it to me, "Here." I looked at him, befuddled. _Is he serious? Is he joking?_ I tried to read his face, but he was nothing but casual about the whole thing.

"Th-thank you." I took the bottle from him and drank until I was no longer thirsty.


	10. Germophobe

_**Kaede**_

That was the first day I walked her home. I also learned that day that she was a germophobe. The train home was very crowded-like, shoulder-to-shoulder crowded. And even though there were no seats left, she refused to hold on to the grab handles or hand bars.

I stood right behind her then. She had her arms wrapped around herself, and her hat partially covered her face.

"Hold on." I whispered and she just shook her head. I kept my eyes on her because I was certain she would fall.

Sure enough on the first stop, the momentum of the train caused her to trip forward, hitting a woman's shoulder, and then fell backward on me. I managed to immediately catch her and helped her back up. She leaned on my arms for support, whispering her excuses and thanks as she stood back up and once more wrapped her arms around herself.

I asked her again to hang onto something, and when she refused again, I pocketed my bottle of soda and held on to her jacket to help steady her.

We got off the train on our stop and walked home. "Ahhh...I feel like I need to take a long bath when I get home!" I didn't say anything. All I could think about was her in the bath. I know, very perverted. After all, she was the first girl I'd ever really spent a lot of time with and had intimate conversations with.

We were nearing her house and she pointed to a convenience store down the street, "You live nearby, don't you, Rukawa-kun? I've seen you in that store a few times, buying your groceries."

I took another sip of my soda and pointed to my apartment building. It was white and towered over a lot of homes so it was easy to spot, "Fifth floor."

"Eh-h? You must have a great view of the city."  
I glanced at her, "A great view? I don't know...you'll have to see it and tell me."


	11. Small Requests

_**Sakura**_

I think it was around that point that we kind of became friends….yeah...It was definitely shortly after I watched his game for the first time. I just figured I had to meet him halfway. And he just suddenly became more open. He was more willing to offer help and also more willing to voice his requests when we study, like, "Can I eat while you talk?" or "Please bring some pocky to the study session later." "If I ace this next test, you have to take me out for a snack." or "Will you lend me your notes?" or "Will you watch me play?" I thought it was really sweet. I felt very honored that he would be open with me...even if it was just in little ways.

The first time I went over to his place was to satisfy one of his most common requests: food. And he welcomed me in, I didn't quite expect that part.

I walked out to his deck, "It's nice to be this high up." I said.

"What do you think of the view?"

I looked around, there was barely much of a view since our area of town was all concrete and whatever trees were there was hidden by more concrete. However, a basketball court was in plain sight.

"There really isn't much to see. It's too bad." I said.

"I knew you'd say that." He was saying from the kitchen, "But to me, I get to see people playing basketball from this high up, which is a great way to get ideas." He placed the two bowls of soup I brought on the coffee table and turned on his console.

We played games all afternoon.

 **Please check out my original story on which this one is based: Maple and Cherry Blossom.**


	12. Shot Selection

_**Kaede**_

I waved my farewells to my team after the game with Shoyo ended. I wanted to hear her thoughts on my play but I knew she didn't want to be seen with me at the gym where RFC girls are always waiting to mob me.

"Where are you?" I sent the text.

"I'm at the train station, heading home."  
"I want to see you." I responded and waited a few minutes for her response. I almost smacked my head when I realized how suggestive that sounded.

"I'll wait here." Said her text.

I searched for her in the crowd and when I spotted her, it dawned on me how comfortable I felt when she was around. She sat on a bench, spraying her hands with sanitizer. It reminded me of the first time I laid my eyes on her...I think even from that moment, that lazy school morning, I had waken something deep inside and just knew she was going to be someone special to me.

"Yo."  
"Hey." She looked up, smiled, and stood up to face me, "Great game."  
"You didn't get bored?"  
She shook her head and smiled, "You played very well, as usual. But Shoyo must have been nervous because they were so careless, fouling you so much. They can't keep sending you to the line, you score 92% of your free throws!"  
I let out a small laugh, "You calculated it?" She gave me a playful glare as we headed down to the platforms.

I could not help but enjoy myself. I nudged her back playfully in response. She laughed and raced me to the next train. We made it just in time and grabbed the empty seats for priority persons. She took the seat by the window and scooted her legs to make room for my duffel bag.

"As I was saying, though, analytics does help figure out opponents' offensive weaknesses. You can recognize when players are taking ill-advised shots and force them to take one. For example, based on my calculations, Shoyo makes 72.4% ill-advised 3-point shots or 45.6% free throw shooters. Seeing how low their probability of scoring is from these lines, then you can strategize to put them in those spots."  
I smirked, "You'd make a good coach."

In essence she kind of was a coach. She was very supportive in every aspect of my learning and she always shared her thoughts on how I (and my team) could be better. I valued her input very much. Her thoughts mattered to me because she matters.


	13. Warmth

_**Sakura**_

"Kaede...Ra? Is that a Ra? What does that mean?" I stared at the Japanese writing on my wrist. He stared back at me smiling knowingly and shrugged. I feigned incredulity and offense but I didn't press him. It was nice to have him back to his playful self. I did…. _miss him_ the past few days…

"Have you eaten?" He inquired and I shook my head picking the kitten he'd found up into my arms again. The rooftop was cold and snow had started to fall...I needed a cuddle buddy.

"I'll be back." He rushed out and left. I stared at the cat in my arms who was staring back at me with surprised blue eyes. "Aww, you already take after him." I whispered and got on my feet to find shelter indoors by the steps. It was quiet on the school's top floor. There was only the flat open roof; and indoors opposite the steps was the small herb house the biology club created.

I walked in there, found a bench and let the kitten wander around while I rubbed my hands together. Then I heard the rooftop door open and close and in a few seconds open and close again before his voice came, "What are you doing here?"

"Are you impervious to the cold? It's warmer than out there." I turned to him and he handed me chopsticks and a bowl of ramen. "Eat." He ordered and sat next to me.

 _Has he always been this sweet?_ I felt my stomach get queasy. The gesture was incredibly kind. I didn't need the ramen to warm me up.

 **This will all make more sense if y'all read my other fic, Maple and Cherry Blossom. ;)**

 **Please R &R. Thanks!**


	14. What if

_**Kaede**_

She was staring at the map seriously, nibbling on her lip as she tried to figure out where to go next. I looked around the amusement park that was surprisingly not crowded on New Year's day. There were mostly families with young children, but there were also couples being all lovey-dovey. I felt my face blush at the sight of them and turned back to her who was still figuring things out, mumbling under her breath. She had cute white earmuffs on and I felt a sudden urge to be close to her... _could we be like the other couples here?_ Did it look like we were on a New Year's date as opposed to being on a birthday adventure? _What if...this was a date?_ She may not think of it that way but... _what if…_

"Come on," I peeled her hand away from the map and held on to it firmly, "I want to go on Big Thunder Mountain." My heart pounded wildly in my chest but she seemed to have been indifferent, "Ehhh? Another wild one?" Her eyes widened and groaned in submission, "Well you're the birthday boy."

I led her by the hand to the next rides. In Tower of Terror she was so scared out of her mind that she laced her hand tightly with mine as she screamed witless from terror.

 _What if this was a date?_ The fireworks exploded in the background and the one question echoed through my mind. _What if I'm already madly in love? What if this is the beginning of our lives together? What if…?_

"Here." I took the camera from her hand and pulled her close to me.

... _then I'm going to pocket this day to memory._

"Smile."


	15. Dense

_**Sakura**_

I cannot pinpoint the exact time I fell in love with him. I knew I felt differently being around him, but I always fought those feelings from growing and forced myself to believe that they were just feelings of friendship. It was when I got possessive of him in a romantic way that I realized I had romantic feelings for him.

But I was very conflicted about how I was going to deal with my feelings. For a long time, I had thought myself undeserving of love. That I was just not the lovable kind. So much so that in spite of my closeness to him, I was jaded by the possibilities. I could not hope for a future with him. I couldn't. I didn't know how. That part of a person that's reserved for romantic, I didn't have that and if I did it was filled with anguish and self-loathing. I was very pessimistic about relationships and I doubted whatever spark I saw that was so plainly obvious.


	16. Stanford

**_Kaede_**

I called her right after I received the call from Stanford. We had already been talking all night but such a big opportunity had fallen onto my lap and in my excitement there was no one else I'd rather share the news with.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Ishihara."

"Rukawa-kun!" I never really call her but she sounded pleasantly surprised to hear me and for a moment I regretted not being with her to share my two biggest victories in one night.

I knew then that I did not want to go anywhere apart from her. I wanted to hear this everyday. I needed this everyday. There was no way I could go.

"Are the festivities over?" She asked.

"No, they are still going at it."

"Is anything the matter? Why did you call?"

A valid question but now I no longer have an answer. Stanford is no longer news because it's no longer happening.

"Nothing is wrong...I-I was thinking about...vegetable tempura." Wow. Kaede, another lame excuse for a conversation. She must think I'm a total nut.

"Tempura?"

"Do you know who sells the best vegetable tempura in Kanagawa?"  
"No."  
"Neither do I. Maybe we should find out together."

"Ooh an adventure involving food! That sounds like fun!"

Anything under the sun, we talked about. And we did the most spontaneous things. She was my best friend and I was crazy about her. Stanford had nothing on Ishihara Sakura.


	17. White Day

**_Kaede_**

She took the guitar and began strumming it, playing with the few chords she knew. I plopped myself on the opposite end of the couch, crossing my legs and resting my arm on the backrest while watching her. She started to hum and sing a little bit and she'd throw me side glances and smile shyly.

"Stop staring at me," She shifted on her seat so she didn't face me. Her back brushed up against my hand and I could feel the rise and fall of her breathing. Her hair fell gently on my fingers, like silk caressing my skin. My heart did backflips.

She kept playing and singing and my heart drummed louder and louder with every breath she took. I couldn't see her face, and though she was next to me, I felt like I missed her. I gave in to the temptation of toying with her hair, twirling the strands in my fingers and stroking them. Her hair strands were so fine and her hair so soft. I kept wondering how they smell, like lavender perhaps.

The guitar kept playing but she turned her head to me, "That really tickles."

"It's so fine."

"Is that a good thing?" She stopped playing and faced me slightly.

"If it's you, it is."

"I don't know what that means."

I shot her a lopsided grin, _Dense as ever._ "Did you have a good time?"

"Immensely so. I still can't believe you'd go to these lengths."

"I've never really done anything for White Day before-nor Pi Day for that matter. So I thought I'd go all out."

"You and I the same. This is my first White Day too."  
"Did I nail it?"

She had a sheepish smile on her face and nodded.


	18. Spring

_**Kaede**_

After we left Riyota and Ayako's graduation party, I was pretty bummed. She'd sung one song and received a string of compliments from Ayako, Riyota, Takamiya, Sendoh, Mitsui and Jin. Then, though she sat next to me the entire time, she spent most of the night talking to everyone else but me.

Ayako and Riyota talked to her about their future plans and talked about the future Shohoku team under me. Hanamichi and Kiyota made a lot of jokes, and shared with her funny stories about each other, basketball games, and me. Sendoh, when he wasn't singing, pretty much hogged her with stories from Kitazawagakuen. It pissed me off that they had memories of something or that they shared something at all.

When I dropped her off at her house, instead of going straight to the door, she just stood there in front of me on my bike.

"Thank you for taking me with you. I had fun."

I forced a smile, trying to suppress the ache in my chest.

"I'm going to be attending the All-Japan basketball training camp again this time. We leave for Hiroshima tomorrow morning."

"Oh...so soon." She whispered and a flash of sadness reflected in her eyes. "The Cherry Blossoms will be in full bloom when you get back."

"I'd like to see them with you."

"Then I will wait for your return."


End file.
